


rising of the curtain

by lethargicProfessor



Series: Ghost!AU [3]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Gen, Ghost!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5426921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethargicProfessor/pseuds/lethargicProfessor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catching a murderer isn't as easy as it sounds.</p><p>(In which Lavi and Kanda are still ghosts, and Lenalee and Allen become junior detectives.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. connecting the dots

Lenalee’s final exam of the semester was over at six in the afternoon, and she was more than glad to put that nonsense behind her for a few weeks.

All she wanted to do was go home, take a long bath, and sleep for a couple of days. She was already picturing it as she pulled up into her driveway, but any thought of relaxation was dashed away at the sight of the police car parked on the curb.

For a brief second her heart caught in her throat, hazy memories of the day her parents died flashing through her head; the red and blue lights blinding as they police officers arrived to tell Komui that Yuu was gone too.

Shaking, she hurried out of her car, books and bag forgotten in the seat as she barged in through the front door. “Komui!”

“In here,” he replied, voice echoing from the kitchen. The anxiety ebbed, and she stumbled to the kitchen in relief.

Whatever nervous flutters were left congealed and sank to the pit of her stomach in dread; Komui’s face was stony as he sat across from a police officer. She vaguely remembered the older man’s face, his…distinctive mustache still as strangely out of place as when they first met.

“Miss Lee,” the officer greeted, smiling thinly. “I’m sorry for the intrusion. I was just hoping to ask you a few questions about the incident you reported a month ago?”

Lenalee felt Komui’s eyes boring into her as she slowly took a seat. “I already answered everything at the station.”

“Of course,”  the officer – his name tag read Leverrier, that’s right – nodded, pulling a notepad and pen out of his pocket. “We just wanted to verify some information.”

“Okay…?” Komui was still watching her, and she knew she was in for a world of trouble once the cops were gone. Maybe she shouldn’t have waited to tell him about finding a body in the woods. “What information?”

Leverrier flipped through his notepad, sliding a folded piece of paper over. “Do you know this person?”

Lenalee took the paper, unfolding it slowly, the dread coiling into something thick and unpleasant in her gut.

The picture was printed out, probably from something on social media. The boy in the picture was beaming at the camera, green eyes sparkling mischievously, leaning heavily on an older man with thinning hair. The selfie was ungainly, taken at an angle, and the old man seemed genuinely surprised to have been caught in the picture.

Lenalee couldn’t help but feel  a little awed; she had never seen Lavi’s face properly since their missing persons’ poster had been so faded. He seemed so happy in the picture, so vibrant.

It took Lenalee a moment to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth, sliding the picture back with trembling hands. “Is that him?” She asked, as if she didn’t know. “The person we found?”

“According to forensics.” The officer wrinkled his nose in distaste, setting the picture back into his notepad. “Have you seen him before?”

“No…never.”

The officer stared at her, gaze sharp and cold as he quietly wrote something on his notepad. “I see. And, just to reiterate, how is it that you came upon the…deceased, exactly?”

“My friend and I were just taking a walk,” she began slowly. Her palms were sweaty, but she and Allen had worked on the story they would say before the cops showed up. “His dog was with us, but he got loose and ran into the woods. When we tried to look for him, we…yeah.”  She finished lamely.

“We didn’t see any dogs when we came to investigate.” Something gleamed in the officer’s eye. “You can tell us the truth, Miss Lee. We know teenagers like to go into the woods to have some…fun.”

The implication hung heavy between them. Lenalee slammed her palms on the table, Komui’s coffee mug rattling ominously. “We weren’t doing anything! Allen’s just my friend! I’m telling you the truth!”

She wished she could slap the smug look off his face as Leverrier stood. “Of course. Thank you for your time, Miss Lee. If you remember anything else about the incident, please let me know.”

Komui stood as well, a scowl on his face as he followed the officer to the door. Lenalee grit her teeth, clenching her fists irritably. “What an asshole.”

Komui’s mug rattled again in assent.

Moments later, Komui wandered back to the kitchen, arms crossed. “You and I need to have a long talk, young lady.”


	2. do I look lonely?

If Lenalee were more inclined to the sciences, she would definitely look into the phenomenon of Summer; there had to be an explanation for summer’s ability to drag on forever and go by in a flash at the same time.

She loved having free time, and it was a blessing after her workload at school, but summer meant Komui was also home. Komui meant well – he tried to make up for lost time with dinner and movies and long talks into the night, but Lenalee still had Lavi and Kanda to worry about, and they had no leads on how to find the killer. It was also next to impossible to research with Komui hovering over her shoulder.

June found Lenalee tucked into the space between their couch and the wall, hiding from Komui to squeeze in some proper research. Laptop balanced on her knees, whiteboard against the couch, she settled down to work.

First was a quick google search, pulling up a Facebook profile and a Twitter that seemed to be Lavi’s. His profile was set to private, but the picture matched the one Leverrier had shown her.  His twitter was open, but his last tweets were from a year ago. Clicking her tongue irritably, Lenalee scrolled through the feed, trying to find something, _anything_ that would give her some insight to his death.

The whiteboard rattled lightly beside her, the words appearing in green slanted at an angle. _I’m sorry_.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Lenalee murmured, wiping the words clean with her thumb. “I’ll find whoever did this to you, I swear.”

Another rattle. _I wish I could help more._

She could only imagine how frustrating it was for him, being in a stranger’s home with no way to go home and no way to communicate properly. Not to say that they weren’t getting stronger – she was starting to catch glimpses of Lavi and Kanda out of the corner of her eye, or down the hall in the darkness, but communication was still restricted to the whiteboard.

“It’s fine, Lavi,” she whispered, peeking over the edge of the couch to check for Komui. “Allen and I are going to help you out.”

He laughed, the sound soft and far away, writing on the board again. _Kanda’s with your brother_.

“Good.” She continued scrolling through the feeds, glancing at the whiteboard. “So there’s nothing you can tell me? I know I’ve asked but…”

_I don’t know what happened._ The words were shaky, almost curt in their delivery. Then, smaller. _I don’t know who killed me. I didn’t see anything_.

Lenalee nodded, sliding lower against the wall, laptop slipping down to her stomach. “I know. I’m sorry. But why were you here?”

The missing persons poster had Lavi’s hometown, and his twitter confirmed his location, but that was hours away from Lenalee’s backyard. She stared at the whiteboard, fingers stilling over the keys.

_I ran away_.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, closing her eyes against the sudden pressure. “Why?”

The board clicked as it slipped to the floor. _Fought with my gramps. It was stupid_.

She reached for the marker on the floor, erasing his messages to draw a heart in the center of the board. A second later, another heart appeared, this one with a smiley face inside.

Lenalee laughed, shaking her head. “You’re silly.”

_You love me_. He responded, drawing a trail of hearts around the words.

“Yeah, yeah.” She smiled, throwing herself back into her research with renewed vigor. Lavi deserved justice, and she would get it for him or die trying.


	3. memories turned into daydreams

(He remembered.)

(He wasn’t sure how, or if they counted as memories at all. Did he still have a brain? How did memories work when one was dead? Was he a soul, or just an imprint, a faded copy left behind in the system?)

Lavi stared at his reflection, flickering between _before_ and _after_.

It was getting harder to control, keeping the _before_ up, and he wasn’t sure what that meant. As he watched, his reflection flickered again, red on red on red. Slowly, he reached up, poking his fingers into the gory hole in his chest. He felt nothing, and yet if he pried at the wound, he could see where the blade had carved him open.

“Like a goddamn thanksgiving turkey,” he breathed, sickened and fascinated all at once. He couldn’t remember if he had been like that, before. Did he like gore? Surely he must have seen his fair share in movies and on TV, but did he like it?

(He couldn’t remember much of _before_.)

The wound in his chest was the worst, of course, but he couldn’t help but run his fingers curiously along the other gashes, broad slashes of steel and smaller, jagged marks left behind by trees and brambles, phantom discolorations around his arm. He almost laughed, wrapping his left hand around his right, around the finger-shaped bruises stamped on his skin for all eternity.

“Stop touching yourself,” Kanda snapped, making Lavi jump and flicker back to _before_.

Kanda was leaning against the door with a scowl on his face, arms crossed almost defensively. “You keep doing that.”

“Doing what?” Lavi smiled, making to sweep past him to Lenalee’s room. She was out, probably at school, but they had been warned her older brother would be popping in and out periodically. Not that he’d be able to see them, but they stayed in her room for her sake.

Lavi jostled Kanda’s shoulder as he walked past, stretching his arms above his head. He didn’t have to turn around to know Kanda’s face was twisted into a grimace. “You keep flickering. Why is that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, buddy.” Sighing, Lavi dropped down on Lenalee’s bed, throwing an arm across his eyes. “You’ve been a ghost longer than I have anyways. Isn’t it normal?”

“It’s never happened to me.” Lavi propped himself up on his elbows, something about Kanda’s tone making a chill run down his metaphorical spine. Kanda was watching him, more wary than annoyed now. “You touched me.”

“What?”

Kanda crossed the room slowly, lifting a hand to Lavi’s shoulder. As usual, it did nothing, fingers ghosting through him with nary a tingle. Lavi still shivered, raising an eyebrow at the calculated look on Kanda’s face. “Do it to me.”

“What?” Feeling nervous, Lavi slid away, backing up against the wall. “I don’t wanna.”

“You did it right now,” Kanda pressed, swatting at Lavi’s hand uselessly. “Just do it again!”

In a panic, Lavi slid back into the wall, kicking his legs wildly to regain his balance. It didn’t work as he had expected it to – he didn’t have mass, exactly, or a balance, so to speak – but was surprised to find that his foot connected with something _hard_.

Kanda groaned, the air driven from his lungs as Lavi’s kick sent him clear across the room and through Lenalee’s bookcase. Stunned, Lavi watched a handful of books tumble off the shelf with Kanda’s passing.

He swallowed thickly, watching Kanda drag himself out of the bookcase with a grunt. In the brief moment of distraction, his form flickered – Lavi caught a glimpse of red-pink flesh peeking through his t-shirt, of burns still fresh after so many years – before Kanda got himself together.

Clearing his throat, he looked up at Lavi, pushing his bangs back irritably. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”

Lavi felt cold.

* * *

After so many months of trying to convince Allen to talk to Link for her, Lenalee managed to corner him entirely by accident.

As luck would have it, there was only table left in the library that had a power strip, tucked into a corner behind the psych shelves. Relieved, Lenalee approached the table, only spotting Link when he lifted his head off the table.

He had bags under his eyes, but managed a faint smile of acknowledgement as she took a seat on the other side of the table. “Lenalee.”

“Hey, Link,” she responded, dropping her things onto the table. She had a paper to work on, and some research on Lavi’s case if she could manage to squeeze it in. “How’ve you been?”

“Fine, thanks. You?” He stifled a yawn behind his hand, murmuring a soft ‘excuse me’ after.

Lenalee laughed, turning on her computer. “Busy. Tired.”

He hummed in agreement, and they settled into a comfortable silence, filled only by Lenalee’s typing. Link was trying to work, flipping through a book absently, but Lena could see his eyes glazing over every other page.

“Link? Can I ask you for a favor?” She broached hesitantly, startling Link out of his stupor.

“What is it?” He set his book down, carefully sliding a sticky note in to mark his page.

She had thought about what she would say for weeks, writing and rewriting her speech in her head on nights where sleep failed to come. Now, though, all the carefully thought out words flew out the window.

“It’s about the dead guy they found at my place,” she blurted out, feeling the heat rush to her ears as he snapped to attention. “I mean…it’s about that case.”

“What about it…?” He asked slowly, turning to face her. She definitely had his attention now.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I would really, _really_ appreciate it if you could, you know, give me updates on the murder.” she said all at once, bracing herself for rejection. “I-I know, you can’t because it’s an ongoing investigation, and also it’s none of my business, but it would mean the world to me.”

He sat back in his chair, knuckles pressed to his mouth thoughtfully. “Why?”

It wasn’t the response she was expecting, but she would take it. Taking a steadying breath, Lenalee clasped her hands in front of her. “Look…honestly, Link, it means a lot to me. It happened in my back yard, you know? I…feel like I owe it to him to see it through.”

“I could get fired if someone found out,” he pointed out, a frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I could get arrested.”

“I know!” She winced, pitching her voice lower to avoid calling attention to their little corner. “I know that. I’m not asking for…reports or anything. Just…a status? He’s _haunting_ me, Link.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, searching for something in her face. “Please, Link,” she whispered, leaning across the table. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. I just need to know.”

He visibly faltered, but nodded slowly. “Just updates. Nothing else.”

“Nothing else,” she agreed, reaching across the table proper to kiss his head. She missed her mark, and only felt a little bad about leaving a pink smear on his forehead. “I can’t thank you enough, Link!”

“Just…don’t do that again,” he huffed, flushing bright red.”I’ll see what I can do.”

Relieved, she laughed. “Deal.”


	4. the deeper that i go

The café was a picturesque little thing tucked into a corner across the athletic center, cheerfully boasting a flower garden out front, tables scattered around for patrons who wished to enjoy the outdoors. Lenalee had driven past it for years, and never really thought about going in, but she had heard good things about it.

The café was also apparently Link’s haunting grounds, a fact Allen was more than happy to exploit.

Lenalee followed Allen through the garden path, watching a fat bumblebee dip into a tulip. “Did he really say he had information, or are you just saying that so we can get dessert with Link?”

“He mentioned on Thursday that he had gotten some reports at the office and that it was along the lines of what you had asked for. But also the pie here is to die for.” Allen smiled brightly, spinning to hold the door open for Lenalee. “Pun slightly intended.”

Link was already waiting for them, sitting in a far corner with a book and a cup of tea, only looking up when Allen dropped down across from him.

Lenalee took a seat beside Allen, smiling earnestly at Link. “Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it.”

“It isn’t much,” Link set his book aside, sliding his glasses off as an afterthought. “I don’t want to give you any illusions that I’ve got any real answers for you. I just happen to see the paperwork that gets sent through the office.”

“No, I understand.” Lenalee nodded quickly, bouncing in her seat as a server came to their table. Orders taken, the server hurried away, and Lenalee turned her attention back to Link. “I really appreciate anything you can tell us, Link.”

“I still don’t know why you would want to know the details,” he mused, watching them curiously. “Whoever did it has to be long gone. We haven’t seen anything like that in the office before, so there’s probably nothing to worry about. You should be safe in your house.”

Lenalee’s smile thinned, though she understood where Link was coming from. “Someone was murdered outside my house. I know that we’re safe, but that’s still not a great feeling.”

Link frowned, ready to respond, when the server returned with their orders. Once the conversation turned to dessert – a full pie for Allen, and a slice each for Lenalee and Link – they had a hard time getting back on track.

Link knew an impressive amount of baking facts, and Lenalee found herself taking some notes for future culinary projects. Halfway through a discussion between the benefits of using milk over water in cakes, Link paused, a bright blush climbing up his face. “We’re not here to talk about cake.”

Allen grinned, delighted. “We could keep going, though.”

Clearing his throat, Link pointedly sat up, turning to face Lenalee. “You wanted information, right? I don’t have access to much, and most of the reports aren’t made public, but I did see some things this past week.”

Lenalee nodded, moving her empty plate towards the end of the table. “Whatever you have is more than enough, Link, thank you.”

“We got the autopsy report sent over the other day,” Link began, frowning at the rest of his pie before nudging it away. “I thought you would be interested.”

“Did you read it? What did it say?” Lenalee sat up straighter, looking around the café before turning back to Link. There weren’t many other customers in the shop, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

“I managed to read through most of the report before I had to give it to my manager,” Link said, tapping his fork against the crust of his pie, staring at the flakes that tumbled onto the table. “But I really don’t think I should be telling you this.”

“You’re already here, Link,” Allen pointed out, setting his chin on his palm. “It seems like a waste to come all this way and not say anything, right?”

He said it innocently enough, but Link still rolled his eyes, leaning in. “Nothing leaves this table, of course.”

“Of course,” Lenalee nodded, leaning in as well. Allen, beside her, sighed and also scooted forward, helping himself to Link’s pie in the process.

Link shot an uneasy look at the door of the shop, and sighed, pitching his voice lower. “It’s definitely being ruled a homicide, though since it’s not recent the inspector’s struggling for leads. Don’t be surprised if they drop by your house again for questioning.”

Lenalee shrugged, nodding. “What about the report?”

“Approximate date and time of death is still being determined, and toxicology reports are taking longer than usual for this one.” Link began, rolling a napkin between his fingers absently. “Rate of decomposition was advanced considering weather conditions and such, but as far as the examiner could gather, it’s been more than six months, maybe closer to eight.”

Lenalee nodded, glancing at Allen out of the corner of her eye. It would line up with around the time she started noticing the activity at her house.

“As far as cause of death, they seem to think, officially, that it was exsanguination, though the victim suffered severe blunt force trauma prior to death.” Link glanced up, eyeing Lenalee warily. “Do you really want me to keep going?”

“Please.” Lenalee frowned, the table digging into her ribs as she strained to lean in more. “Did they find anything weird?”

“The entire report was weird,” Link huffed softly, running a hand through his hair. “There were defensive wounds on the arms, and it sounds like the weapon might have been a blade of some sort. The blade wasn’t used to kill him, though.”

“So how did he bleed out?” Allen asked, hunching up in his seat.

Link sighed. “Like I said, they aren’t really sure. The exsanguination could have been caused by the blunt force trauma, but it’s been long enough that they need more time to look into it.”

“Anything else?” Lenalee stirred her tea, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth. Someone had clearly gone after Lavi, but if the damage was internal, maybe something else had gone wrong before. Flashes of a car wreck crossed her mind before she forcibly pushed them away.

“The victim had signs of blunt force trauma to the chest, left shoulder, and head. Fractures, but not immediate enough to be the cause of death. The examiner made some notes, but they’re all just theories at this point.” Link made a face, dropping his voice to a whisper. “They think something knocked him down hard enough to crack his ribcage, bashed his head on the ground. But he was still alive up to that point.”

Lenalee felt her stomach drop, but braced herself anyways. “What was it, Link? What happened to him?”

“Whatever attacked him ripped him open.” Link traced a finger across the left side of his chest, a diagonal gash from his shoulder down to his sternum. “They’re still searching the area, but it seems there’s…parts missing. Organs.”

“Animals, maybe?” Allen asked, looking a little pale. “That wouldn’t be weird, right?”

“Sure,” Link said, taking a sip of his tea. “Except animals leave bite marks. There’s signs of…tearing, usually. Not in this case. The cuts were all too precise, a sharp blade and someone with experience using it.”

Allen coughed into his fist, turning to Lenalee. “Someone….cut him up, then. That’s….certainly something.”

“What was missing, Link?” She asked slowly, wrapping her hands around her glass to keep them from shaking.

Link hesitated, but sighed. “His heart. Whoever did it took his heart.”


	5. it takes my breath away

“Can ghosts feel pain?”

At any other point in time Kanda would have made a rude comment about stupid questions, but staring at Lavi – who seemed almost faded in the dim room, face twisted in a grimace – he felt the retort die on his tongue.

“They’re not supposed to,” he said instead, feeling uneasy. Kanda had been “living” in his house for years, and he had never experienced half the shit he had until Lavi showed up. He certainly wasn’t the authority on ghostly things – in the beginning, he’d only had a very brief encounter with another spirit at the scene of his accident – but everything he knew he had learned over the years.

Lavi frowned, and Kanda grimaced when he flickered. At first, the sight of it was almost too much to take in - a gory hole torn into his chest, bits of bone cracked and visible through what flayed skin was left - but Kanda was grudgingly getting used to it. “You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry,” Lavi murmured, tapping his chest. “I don’t really know how to stop it.”

Wary, Kanda stepped closer, peeking into the wound despite himself. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Lavi glanced up, fingers prodding the edges of the wound closest to his shoulder, and sighed. “Not…exactly. It feels like it should hurt. I don’t remember what that feels like though.”

Kanda tried to slap his hand away, rolling his eyes when it phased through him, and wandered away. All of this ghost nonsense would have been easier if they could just ask someone about it.

“Did Lenalee say she was staying late at Allen’s?” Lavi asked, sitting on Lenalee’s bed. The clock read half past six, and Lenalee was usually punctual about getting home on time.

“No.” Kanda tried not to worry, but Lenalee’s safety had always been his priority. He couldn’t do much when she was away from home, but he still felt the urge to do something about it.

They both turned when the front door opened, and Komui’s voice filtered through the house loud enough for them to hear his greeting to Lenalee, Allen, and someone named Tim.

A few moments later, Allen and Lenalee tumbled into her room, followed closely by a younger boy with a scowl on his face. Lavi sat up and moved away from the bed, thankfully back to his normal self, and watched the others flutter around the room in search of something.

“I’m so sorry, Tim,” Lenalee apologized, poking through her drawers. “I swear I had it with me, I hope I didn’t leave it at school…”

“You got gas today after class,” Allen pointed out, checking Lenalee’s bookcase anyways. “You probably left it in your car.”

“We’re still gonna see the movie right?” The younger boy asked, dropping on Lenalee’s bed heavily. 

Allen shot Lenalee a glance, fond and exasperated all at once, and let himself drop lightly on top of the boy. “Of course we are, Tim.”

Tim squirmed, pressing his hands against Allen’s face to shove him off, laughing despite himself, dislodging Lenalee’s wallet from between her comforter.

Allen sat up off Tim, grinning. “Hey, Tim found it! I told you it was a good idea to bring him along.”

“Did you?” Lenalee asked, amused, and made a move to reach for it. Timothy beat her to it, crouching down to scoop it up off the ground.

Lavi, seemingly automatically, had crouched down to grab it as well, and Kanda watched with some horror as he and Tim knocked heads.

* * *

Lavi groaned, the pain flaring in the center of his forehead, and wondered if contact with the living was a new symptom. He had never been able to before, and Kanda hadn’t done it before, so he wasn’t sure if it was a Normal Ghost Thing or not.

The pain, though. The pain was something else. It was sharp and angry, almost stabbing at his temples, and he realized he had shut his eyes against the pain.

Dimly, he heard Allen and Lenalee fussing over the boy, Tim, and wondered if he had somehow hurt him when they bonked heads. He hoped not - the last thing he wanted was to become a poltergeist or some shit.

“Ow,” he whined, rubbing at his head to ease the pain, and felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the sound of his voice.

He sounded awfully young.

Lavi felt his breath catch in his throat, and he hoped and prayed that he was wrong. He was suddenly very, very scared to open his eyes.

Allen, in his ear, startled him enough to jerk upright, eyesight swimming at the sudden change in position. “Timothy?”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Lenalee breathed, kneeling on his other side, running her fingers through his hair soothingly. “Are you okay?”

Lenalee had never seen him before. She wasn’t talking to him. She couldn’t be. Which meant….

Lavi wheezed, staring at his too small hands, the beginnings of a panic attack prickling alongside the pain in his head. “Oh, fuck me.”


End file.
